Converting block basement to gun room/man cave

[Guest scout308]

I am converting a concrete block basement into a gun room man cave.

Been looking at different things to go on the brick walls instead of simply painting them.

Looked at some slat wall or quality peg board to hang things on and/or display some rifles.

Also thought about paneling, kind of a logans outhouse style stained plywood look.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Guest jackdm3]

Are you sure you have any current or future moisture abated? If so, you can procede. If you want to live there for awhile, avoid the cheapness of pegboard. Furring strips and drywall would elevate the appearance if you are sure there will be no moisture (in Memphis, a basement doesn't add to official square footage since it is expected to flood). With the right lighting, you can display rifles in a diagonal/horizontal fashion. If they are true conversation pieces, you can print info plates to describe the history, like in a museum. Same with a wooden background, but it needs to be a light stain so the darkness doesn't get confused with the color of the stocks.

[MCSCOTT]

This is something that I've always wanted to do, but just don't have a basement. Moisture would definately be my biggest concern in any basement. I would have to make absolutely sure that there wouldn't be a chance of any flooding due to any plumbing issues, as well as weather. I've known way too many people, even ones who have basement apartments, that ended up having flooding issues that ruined everything. I would definately go with slat wall or something similar instead of pegboard. If you wanted to go with a different look you might also look into using old barn lumber as paneling. I know someone who had their hunting room done this way and it turned out great, plus you can usually find someone tearing down an old barn, or with one that is falling down, that would give you the lumber for free. The upside to using the basement is you could have a vault door put in and turn the whole basement into a gun safe.

Again though, moisture would be my biggest concern.

[Capbyrd]

I dont know how practical this would be but what about going with a composite material. It would help to eliminate rot problems with wood if moisture were an issue. I know they make composite decking but I don't know if they make anything else.

[Guest jackdm3]

Hardiboard is like a 1/4" sheet of concrete that doesn't have these problems much. Especially compared to drywall and pegboard. It also comes in a woodlike texture to be painted. It's cut with a masonry blade for circular saws.

[mousegunner]

Stack sandbags on all four walls, and make a firing range out of it!

[Guest Jcochran88]

Stack sandbags on all four walls, and make a firing range out of it!

My VOTE!!!!!!!!

[buck1032]

First thing I would do (I have done this to my gun room in the basement) would be paint the walls with Dry Loc, UGL - DRYLOK® Masonry - Masonry Waterproofer

[MudBugjr]

They sell moisture kits to check for this. A small test that I use before I stain a concrete floor in a basement. Take a piece of clear plastic about 2ft square then tape it down with duct tape all around. Let it sit a day or two and see if any moisture has collected on the underside.

Oh i like the gun range Idea myself.

[seez52]

First thing I would do (I have done this to my gun room in the basement) would be paint the walls with Dry Loc, UGL - DRYLOK® Masonry - Masonry Waterproofer

I second this. It's a real pain in the a** to apply but does work well. I have a 95% underground storm room 32x7 that I also use for ammo storage and was having some issues with moisture. I etched first, then coated the walls with the UGL product and it's been a 100% improvement. Also makes it brighter. If you do coat it, there might be an issue with penetrating the coating with fasteners (nails/screws) used in attaching slat board etc.

[dunndw]

Seal it, then use compsoite wood flooring on the walls. My wife was watching one of those DIY shows last weekend and they did that...it actually look very nice.

[nightrunner]

like others have said, MAKE SURE there is NO moisture!

on a portion of the walls, I would put up metal pegboard for displaying guns, etc.

I would have some sort of wood on the remaining walls.

[seez52]

Make sure you provide some ability to connect up a dehumidifier. A drain would be nice but not always possible, certainly a way to plug one into AC would be needed. I've found that even if you've contained the moisture with dry-lok, the dehumidifier will "sweeten" the air and keep if from smelling like a basement.

[gregintenn]

A friend of mine built himself a gameroom in his basement and paneled the walls with old barn lumber. It looks great!

[wareagle]

I would seal, add a dehumidifier, and HVAC. Aside from composite materials, bamboo and cork panels work great. Also, take a look at the vinyl "scraped hardwood" finish flooring boards.